Lol. I love the Onion. I used to subscribe to the dead-tree version back in college, back in the days when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. :3

It seems to me like "safe spaces" are modern word for "segregation". I thought we decided that segregation was bad and got rid of it years ago....... And these are the people who will be the future of my country. :(

But back to the topic of discussion, hehe. I see where you are coming from, and I think I mostly agree. But I do think that a certain amount of preconception or bias or whatever may be necessary in order for us to think coherently. I don't think it is always a "bad" thing, as long as we are aware of it and prepared to reevaluate our preconceptions and biases when we absorb new data. The danger though (in my opinion anyway) is when we go too far in either direction. That is, to become so firmly rooted in our biases that we cannot reevaluate them. But I also think it is dangerous to go too far in the other direction, or we adopt a completely relativistic internal belief system (or lack thereof), and become unable to engage in coherent reasoning.

The way I see it, I think it is perfectly fine to adopt a tribal identity, and to even be proud of that identity and share it with others in hopes of bringing them (at least partially) into your own tribe. As long as in the process, we are not taking away the freedom of others to do the same with their particular tribal identity as well. This is one thing that worries me a great deal about the insanity that is going on at US college campuses right now. Somehow it seems like actual open-mindedness and free speech have been replaced with segregation and censorship through social ostracization and some kind of mob-mentality. Indeed, it strikes me as a shade Orwellian, and I find that to be worrisome.

But I guess I can't really do anything about it, since I am one of those terrible awful old-fashioned cis white males (sarcasm lol) who believes that everyone should be free to speak their beliefs, even if I (or anyone else) is offended by it, because that is how things are supposed to work here. I just wish they would extend the same courtesy, lol.